What’s your business ideology?

To help people overcome the rigours of back pain and empower them to be in control of their condition, thus preventing recurrences. If patients fully understand their condition we can work together to achieve the very best results.

What are the most important characteristics for a business in your industry?

As most patients come to us in pain and are often scared of what the future may hold for them, excellent communication skills, clinical reasoning and empathy are vital, alongside a good level of understanding and technical skills. It is really important in modern healthcare that patients not only feel they are being helped by an expert but that they also understand their condition so they can help themselves.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

There’s no such thing as failure! We are generally programmed to learn most from challenging ourselves and that means sometimes getting things wrong.

Do you have a hero? What do you admire about them?

It would have to be Nelson Mandela. After reading his autobiography I was massively influenced not only by his unerring belief and tenacity through the most bleak and oppressive times, but also by his ability to change belief systems by educating one person at a time in order to influence a whole nation.

What’s your greatest achievement?

It would have to be a tie between building the Sussex Back Pain Clinic from a portable table in a dentist’s room to a multipractitioner practice and marrying my beautiful wife and together bringing up two amazing daughters.

Are you a technophile or a Luddite?

I guess I am a bit of both. Technology is good if it solves a real problem and is not there just for the sake of technology. Also I think that as an osteopath any technology that stops us moving properly or becoming lazy is definitely not good; as I often tell my patients: “if you don’t use it you lose it!”

Is there a gadget that you could not do without?

As a keen mountain biker I love my cycle computer. It not only motivates me to go out on my bike but also allows me to be a bit of a nerd by seeing how far and how high I have ridden.

You’re stranded on a desert island: what book, film and luxury would you take with you?

The book would be A Pair of Silver Wings by James Holland set in Italy during the Second World War. It is both factually well researched and a great story. Life is Beautiful is an incredible film about a Jewish father who uses his colourful imagination and sense of humour to protect his son from the harsh realities of a prisoner of war camp. It is one of the most moving films about the power of the human spirit I have ever seen. The luxury is easy – a case of red wine from St Emilion.

What’s your favourite way to spend a Sunday?

A bike ride on the South Downs followed by lunch outside with friends and family with a glass or two of St Emilion. Then most likely a snooze on the sofa.